Leon had been brought up by a single mother and a strange old granny so he was taught to be polite and mind his manners about the fairer sex. He stuck to this notion despite finding out that he was gay and had no interest in girls whatsoever. So when the girls finally reached the entrance that they also were standing close to, he automatically gestured and said; "Ladies first."
Despite his gentlemanly genuflection, the three girls that served as the Twin Lotuses foil giggled unkindly. Who asked this short fellow to attempt to act all manly and noble, when clearly he is a uncouth country bumpkin. Dressed in silks and wearing adornments, these girls clearly compared themselves to this youth wearing plain linens with a piece of cloth as a hair tie. And look at his waist where he attempted to look more cultured with carved wooden trinkets rather than jade!
Miss Merylin and Miss Maimai lived up to their reputation and did not laugh, however this wasn't due to the reasons their adoring fans assumed. Miss Maimai was too busy staring at the boy's strange skunk striped hair and thick glasses to notice what he was wearing, although even then, she would be unlikely to laugh as she had never placed much attachment to clothes and jewellery. She wore the pink hair pin simply as it had been a gift from her mother and the plain silks because that was the clothing she was given by her stepmother.
Miss Merylin was not laughing as her eyes did not even see the boy, all her attention had been given to the tall, handsome and proud man, who stood out like a dragon amongst toads. His aura was mighty and fierce and his presence made her heart quicken. She sighed inwardly and reminded herself of her mother's teachings. Stay calm, smile softly and maintain an air of elegance and nobility.
Jin Li had not really bothered himself about the girls approach whatsoever, instead getting irritable that these weak boys thought to block him and prevent him... and his servant... from going about their business. But his opponent was not even looking at him now, let alone moving!
"Miss Merylin, Miss Maimai," the boy in front of him crooned. "I was just about the get the door for you!" This set the friends off into another set of giggles, but less unkind ones. The boy offering had decent height and was their senior, it would not be bad to get onto his good side.
"No need," Merylin stated in soft tones. She had caught the object of her attention looking at her and cast her eyes down, chastely, before continuing upon her path.
"Thank you anyway!" Maimai said, warmly, before stepping to her sister's side. As they disappeared through the door, many of the boys finally dispersed, as did the tall boy blocking Leon and Jin Li's way.
"What was that all about?" Jin Li asked.
"Um, f-from what I kn-know," Leon replied as he now moved unimpeded. "The g-girls j-just n-now are n-new, first years. They are p-p-popular amongst the students."
"And you are clearly not popular," Jin Li said, teasingly.
Leon shrugged, unfazed.
After they entered the hall, Leon glanced over where the two seniors were fawning over the girls, while taking and praising their pills and offering them the best and freshest bundles of herbs. Thinking that it maybe some time before he could swap his own pills, he turned to look over the request board to see what sort of rewards he could obtain. Jin Li shadowed him.
"This is the alchemists request board?" Jin Li asked him. His knowledge of pills could be considered so-so, he knew which ones would be beneficial for him now and which ones he had taken in the past. He also knew of others through the tutors his father had hired for his brothers and himself. However, he knew much less about herbs beyond common ones that could be found in most places.
Leon nodded an affirmative. "D-did you look at the b-b-board in the m-martial arts school?" He asked, while selecting a request from the beast taming school, which would supply him with a snow bearfox pelt and another from his own school wanting five cloudy spiritual pills in exchange for three bladed thistle bulbs. He did not know what the pelt would be like, but he was hoping it could be turned into a coat. The number of pills was not large, so he couldn't be sure. At worst, he could use it as a rug.
The bulbs were much more tempting, though he had never made cloudy spiritual pills before as they required this uncommon plant in their making, he could ask for the leaves so he could make the pills as it was request. Then once he had grown the bulbs, he could make the pills without aid! He knew that these would be useful for Jin Li's current level of cultivation as well.
"The requests were not worth my time," Jin Li replied.
As they were talking, neither noticed that they had garnered attention away from the two seniors manning the Herb Hall, until they heard;
"Maimai, why is your nose bleeding?"
There was not as much blood as the scream perhaps suggested. Maimai waved away concerns as she blushed prettily, gathered her herbs and stated; "I'll just go back first, Merylin and rest."
"Yes, sister," Merylin said with a soft, worried voice. "That is probably for the best." She watched as the girl ran off, not noticing her dazed smirk beneath the silk handkerchief she held against her nose.
"I h-hope she will b-b-be alright," Leon said aloud without thinking as he held the two requests. The three extras glanced over at him with slight sneers.
"What is it to you?" One, with long, deep purple hair demanded.
Merylin inwardly gritted her teeth thinking that these friends were perhaps not the sort of girls she should associate with if she wished to keep her reputation pure. Even if the gossip they had shared with her had been useful. She bowed to Leon, showing respect that she did not feel. "It's fine," she said, gently. "Thank you for your concern." She glanced up through her long eyelashes at the taller boy beside him, but noticed he was not paying her heed so quickly straightened.
Leon just smiled as if he hadn't noticed the twisted expression of the girls and bowed his head slightly in turn.
"How long must we wait?" Jin Li stated, impatiently.
"D-Do you n-need to return to the m-martial arts school n-now?" Leon asked wondering why he was suddenly impatient.
"No," Jin Li declared, shortly. "But at this rate, you will not have time to make me lunch."
Leon frowned. "It was n-not that long ago that I s-served b-breakfast," he mentioned and as if on cue, Jin Li's stomach began to voice its complaints. Whether fortunately or not, Leon was the only person in range to hear it.
"The meal was insufficient in size."
"You ate half of m-m-mine as well!"
"True, you should make more next time, so that you don't become any skinnier."
As they exchanged words, Merylin came to much the same conclusion that Jin Li's roommate Sun had, although of course she would not know this. The tall boy appeared to be a young Master, perhaps down on his luck due to the quality of cloth of his otherwise well tailored garments and the smaller boy with strange hair was his servant. Clearly, the handsome, dashing, young Master was a martial artist and thus his servant must have enrolled in the alchemist school to provide him with pills as well as continue his usual duties of taking care of his master.
This theory, she felt, while not proven, was not unlikely. After all, her half-sister, Maimai, who was born of a concubine weeks after her own birth, was with her to be her companion while she adapted to education within the school. This was her noble father's wishes.
Merylin and Maimai were just two of the children born to the leader of the famous Dawn Star sect. Both were born blessed with spiritual roots, Merylin's being fire and Maimai's being wood and as such were considered talented. And Merylin, at least, proved this to be true. She broke through to the secondary stage of cultivation at just fourteen. Granted, as daughter of the first wife, she had access to abundant pills and elixirs, but this was still a worthy achievement.
However Maimai had heard from a servant about the Ascending Mountain Institute, a school that would accept all talented individuals whether they were poor or wealthy, so long as they could prove themselves worthy to learn. Merylin had become curious. While indeed, she had the best tutors for cultivation, alchemy and martial arts, she also felt a little smothered by her doting father and overbearing mother. When she had first mentioned the school, her father had wept declaring dramatically, but what if someone bullies our Merylin? Completely unworthy of a sect leader. And her mother had turned up her nose, stating that the Teachers at the school were all 'charlatans and tricksters' despite the amazing reputation Merylin had discovered it had.
In the end, her father had agreed to her demand to enrol... so long as it was not in magic or beast taming or martial arts, so that his little girl could not get hurt. And as long as she took Maimai as a companion. Merylin would never admit it, but that girl's martial arts were better than hers!
"I am Merylin," she stated to the object of her affections with a small and warm smile. "I hope that we can learn from each other in the future." And with that, she swept out of the building, the girls running to catch up as they carried her herbs.
Jin Li and Leon glanced at each other. With all of their bickering, they had forgotten that the girls were even there.
Double Update in order to celebrate 100k views! Yay and thank you to everyone reading so far!
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